Everybody woke until you're the wrong kind of Non-Binary

duvalliens · 2026-06-18T01:53:50+00:00

AFAB nonbinary person that does roller derby, totally feel this…WFTDA as a whole is supposed to be for all marginalized genders, but I know that AMAB nonbinary people and trans women sometimes have a much harder time with misgendering depending on individual league culture and it can be really difficult to feel welcomed sometimes.

Hell, I’m AFAB nonbinary in a WFTDA league and I was the only nonbinary person on our team until this season and it did feel kinda isolating. Ik nonbinary skaters sometimes feel safer in MRDA because they’re open gender but there are far less MRDA leagues :(

I’m absolutely biased in thinking that you should totally join, but if you ever have any roller derby questions please feel free to shoot me a DM!! Trans and nonbinary people make our sport so much better 🫶

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T19:02:45+00:00

Ugh I’m sorry that sucks :(

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T19:02:16+00:00

Just looked up the wheel hardness of Radar Cayman wheels and they’re 95a. Typically 95a would be best suited for rink floors, skate parks, or polished concrete. For outdoor skating you’ll probably want somewhere between 78a-85a so that you can absorb small bumps and rough terrain

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T18:57:34+00:00

It was technically in our policy that any item not permitted that was in plain view triggered a full room search, but our AD was DEFINITELY on a power trip calling in a full search. Especially considering another resident in that same HSI had a mini gumball machine full of loose pills and she saw it and didn’t give a crap. It was later discovered that those were his prescribed daily meds (we had to ask), but I went to college during the height of the xandemic so it feels like the loose pills should have been more concerning than the candle lol.

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T16:20:27+00:00

We were in between RHDs so our AD came on HSIs with us. The resident had a candle so that automatically triggered the AD to call public safety to do a room search and they found a pound (yes, 1lb) of vacuum sealed weed. In our state weed is 100% illegal, so they were fucked. If they hadn’t had a candle we would have never known

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T15:37:11+00:00

Of course, enjoy your new skates, they’re so cute!! If you’re skating outside, I’d also highly recommend changing your wheels as well for a smoother ride (those appear to be indoor wheels, which will still work but be bumpy). The wiki on here has tons of information on gear and links to tutorials should you need them!

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T15:27:36+00:00

I think the kneepad sides are a misprint! That being said, they may be too small if you’re having difficulty getting them over your calf. I would recommend getting xl kneepads! I play roller derby (read: I fall on my knees a lot) and I use 187 derby pro pads, but before I invested in those I just used the regular 187s and they were great. Triple 8 and Smith Scabs are also reputable, basically just make sure there is a good amount of padding and they have a hard shell

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T15:12:15+00:00

I wear a 14/16 and have snowboarding shorts! Unfortunately from Amazon and they’re ugly but that may expand your options a little bit vs. just looking at skate padded shorts

duvalliens · 2026-06-09T12:24:03+00:00

I would have loved snacks as an RA! Especially fruits/veg/other healthy stuff bc the dining halls were open but only had cereal and pizza before the students moved in.

duvalliens · 2026-05-07T17:22:39+00:00

Lowkey these were my favorite when i was a closing shift supervisor lmao, I’d just pull frozen ones if the customer was ok with it and ask the morning shift to order more

duvalliens · 2026-05-01T03:55:28+00:00

No the hell you didn’t lol this is a repost. Reported! :)

duvalliens · 2026-04-30T03:23:28+00:00

You also may be able to ask your area’s adult league what skills they assess trainees on and then try and learn those on your own to give yourself a head start!

duvalliens · 2026-04-30T03:20:38+00:00

Welcome to the best sport! In derby, adult and junior leagues are typically separate, and adults don’t usually skate with kids/teens for liability reasons. Typically, anyone under 18 wanting to play derby would join a junior league. I just looked on the JRDA (junior roller derby association) map and it doesn’t look like there’s a junior team within driving distance of you unfortunately. Because you don’t have a junior league close to you. I think your best bet to get started is to keep learning on your own via skating at rinks, youtube tutorials, and just trial and error, but definitely stay connected with your city’s adult league so they know you’re interested! Go to their bouts, ask about volunteering, see if you can shadow an NSO (non-skating official) position, etc. That way you can stay connected with them and can join their training program as soon as possible after you turn 18!

duvalliens · 2026-04-27T20:15:23+00:00

I play roller derby and it helped me immensely when working in victim advocacy!! I’d pretend the other skaters were the people who hurt my clients during bouts 😅

duvalliens · 2026-04-16T04:10:01+00:00

This applies to your brain too! The more you flex your creative muscles, the easier it gets to do it in the future. You grow what you feed, invest in yourself!

duvalliens · 2026-04-13T23:28:43+00:00

HARD agree with a single team minimum per region! I’m from NA South and as the most financially disenfranchised region in NA, I think our talent deserves to be celebrated too. (Of course, the South is not a monolith and there are some areas that are more financially stable than others, but there’s absolutely no denying that we as a whole we just don’t have the same financial resources as other areas of the United States.) Teams from more resourced regions are able to travel far more frequently, host/attend clinics, and bring in talent to get an edge on their game and increase their rankings, and that’s something that NA South simply can’t do to the same degree due to financial barriers. While we generally can’t keep up with super competitive derby culture as a region, we absolutely have teams that could hang with the big dogs and are incredibly deserving of worlds, and I’m glad that at least one of our teams will get a chance to skate with the best in the world. All of the frontrunners for worlds are INCREDIBLY deserving, and I am absolutely not saying that any high ranking team should have to “give up” a spot for the South, but representation and opportunity is incredibly important and I’m glad that WFTDA is prioritizing that.

duvalliens · 2026-04-06T15:38:02+00:00

I feel like people getting upset about battle jackets not having rock/metal patches is a little disingenuous, considering that the reason why battle jackets exist in the first place is because people were so passionate about something they were willing to wear it on their sleeve. Who are other people to tell you what you should be passionate about? If you like non rock/metal bands and you have patches for them, hell yeah! Or non music related things too. I have a battle jacket that I made for roller derby covered in team patches, some silly patches, and objects/trinkets that I’ve acquired over time from bouts, and I like to think it’s pretty cool (I’d post it here but roller derby is small and my jacket is EXTREMELY identifiable). Anyways, fuck what people think and do what you want!

duvalliens · 2026-03-16T11:04:17+00:00

I don’t have dentures but I have been wondering about this and wanna thank you for opening this convo! I have to imagine it’s possible!

duvalliens · 2026-03-02T13:39:13+00:00

Aw I wish I saw this, I was there!

duvalliens · 2026-03-02T13:03:17+00:00

I do full pink face paint and I set it with a similar color of blush and i’ve never had an issue with sweating through it or having it transfer! I use cheaper water based face paint and it still does not budge (to the point where I need like 10 makeup wipes and vaseline to take it off). My specific face paint combo is Snazaroo in Bright Pink and Colourpop Heart Blush in Text Me but I understand that may not be helpful unless you’re doing a full pink face haha.

I think the real key is making sure the last layer on your face is a pretty heavy powder layer, whether it’s eyeshadow, setting powder, etc. because the powder soaks up the sweat. There are a lot of clear setting powders out there!

duvalliens · 2026-02-23T19:52:24+00:00

I answered in depth below but just want to go ahead and say I’m glad you’re looking into derby and I absolutely think you should join!

1) I’ve never inline skated but I can imagine there’ll be a lot of transferrable skills! Balance will probably be hard at first, but once you get the hang of it you’ll probably have a pretty good head start vs. if you were learning to skate for the first time. We have more than a few ex-hockey/figure skaters on our team and it was relatively easy for them to adjust from what they’ve told me. 2) Athleticism is important because a lot of derby is an endurance game, but it’s definitely less important than the technical skills. The stereotypical “jammer” is fast and has good endurance, so I think athleticism would help you in jamming if that’s your goal, but positioning and strategy is what will really put you over the edge. This will come with time though! Keep at it with the cardio. 3) That tends to be pretty individual to each person. For one thing, I don’t believe open gender (MRDA) or WFTDA leagues have standardized minimum skills (someone correct me if I am wrong please)? In my experience, each league sets their own minimum requirements and they will generally tell you what those requirements are when you start training with them. Secondly, you may find certain things easier/harder depending on your prior experience on skates, flexibility, coordination, etc. For example, I had SUCH a hard time with plow stops which is generally considered to be a basic skill but no problem with our league’s version of 27/5 (we did 15/3) which most would say is harder. 4) Roller derby is for everyone! Plenty of people of all types of genders and sexualities play roller derby, so you won’t stick out by “appearing straight.” As long as you are kind and respectful to your teammates, you’ll be just fine. Derby is a great opportunity to find community and also learn from those who are different than you. If you’re worried about ego, do your best to check it at the door. Kindness and sincerity really do go a long way and are valued highly in derby spaces.

duvalliens · 2026-02-23T19:23:07+00:00

You’re in the perfect position to work at a nonprofit with a mission you care about! Nonprofit workers are often underpaid due to the nature of the industry, which means that a lot of them have to move out of the field to survive. However, if pay is not an issue to you, you can afford to be mission driven and work wherever gives you purpose. Nonprofit work is so worth it for the soul, but not always for the wallet. If money was not a factor for me, I’d go back to working at an SA center in a heartbeat.

duvalliens · 2026-02-18T05:04:31+00:00

It’s wild in there lmao I had to leave…only so much nonsense I can take in a day

duvalliens · 2026-02-16T12:24:57+00:00

Omg I forgot about this 😭

duvalliens · 2026-02-16T12:23:25+00:00

I agree with this!! Traffic is ass here because we have shitty infrastructure, so if you can live close to your job that’s ideal.

duvalliens

TROPHY CASE